Mexico City: In Summary

I realized a little bit ago that because I have been so random about blogging, I never posted anything about D.F. (Distrito Federal, or Mexico City). We really had a great time. After moving it from May to August due to the swine flu shutdown of the city, we had to shorten our trip to one week....and what a packed week it was!



We spent two days of the week at an orphanage. The kids were wonderful and so eager for attention and love. I so wanted to take a few home. We spent another day with street kids (one of them only two months old)...hanging out with them in their homes: under a bridge, in some drainage pipes, and in a fountain. It was difficult to see them live such lives. The home we were partnering with is a great place that provides education, shelter, food and teaches them about Jesus.



We also got to spend time with the terminally ill in a home where they had been abandoned by their families. Some were paralyzed, others had HIV, and another had been left in a trash can as an infant and was severely handicapped as a result. We really enjoyed hearing their stories, reading to them, and even crocheting with them. It was a highlight for several of us.

At a home for teen moms, many of whom had been abused on the street and became pregnant as a result, Angie and I gave them pedicures while the guys tried to build a swing set for the kids. I ended up getting the opportunity to take some photos of the kids for their moms. Mexican kids are so photogenic. Their beautiful dark brown eyes sparkle so much!



We had a wonderful time and of course were blessed so much more than they were. I am so grateful to God for the opportunities He gives us to see how great the need is in the world. I want to learn to be more sensitive to His voice so that He might meet more of those needs through me.

In Limbo...

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last few days, you are probably aware of the swine flu pandemic. We are scheduled to fly to Mexico City on May 12th. Obviously, with the recent events in that city, our plans are now up in the air. Parents of students going with us are understandably concerned, and we are now watching the news regularly. Please pray for us as we make some important decisions in the coming days. We need to decide whether to cancel the trip entirely, relocate the trip, or postpone it.



We are really bummed about it. The group that we have going is such a great group, and I was so looking forward to getting to know the students better. Angie, Brandon's amazing cousin, works with prostitutes and street kids in Mexico City...and our plan was to work alongside her for two weeks. Please pray for her as she serves the Lord in a country of people who must be asking some serious life questions right now.

Those poor birds!

Our poor, deprived little boy!  In Mexico, he was (relatively) free to explore and run and ride in cars without seatbelts much less carseats.  Here, his freedoms are somewhat limited.  On our way home from the border, he had to ride in a carseat for the first time in a week.  He screamed and cried for a half hour straight (It didn't help that he was completely exhausted and it was way past his bedtime).

In Guadalajara, our hotel was open with plenty of space to run in and new things to explore.  He was running constantly.  He loved the city most of

all for its abundance of pigeons!  Those poor, unsuspecting birds were a constant

source of entertainment for Caleb.

Oh, and he learned a new word...BIRDS!

Scenes South of the Border

I had a lot of fun with our camera down there.  I shot a little less than one thousand pictures.  I think I ended up keeping half of them.

A Much Loved City...and People

It was wonderful to be home again this weekend.  Caleb and I missed Brandon a ton, and I was eager for my dishwasher and our bathtub.  Living out of a hotel for a week definitely isn't ideal...and it often felt like camping in terms of how we were roughing it.  Being in the downtown of a dirty city definitely made me grateful for our relatively clean home and modern-day comforts.  Oh, but I would do it again anytime.

In Guadalajara, I was often surprised by just how much that city feels like home to me.  I grew so much there, and we saw the Lord blow us away time and again with His answers to prayer. Seeing friends was a great encouragement to see how much so many of them have grown as well.  I am so proud of them...and so grateful.

Brandon had a wonderful time in New Orleans.  He loved the people he worked with, and they had some pretty exciting opportunities to help the residents of that poor city.  It is amazing that after so many years there is such great need.  His clothes smelled horribly from the two and a half year old refrigerator mess, and some of them need to be thrown out.  I hope that we can serve in that way together someday.

 As much as we loved our trips, we are so very glad to be home.

¡Ya llegamos...y casi regresamos!

Ten years ago, if anyone were to tell me that I would grow to love Mexico this much, I would have laughed. But I have come to feel as at home in this country as anywhere else in the world.

Here in our hotel, our little boy is practically a celebrity. Most know him by name, and I constantly hear, "Mira el bebe!" or "Ay...que chulo!"  ("Look at the baby!"  or "Oh, how cute!") He blows kisses to the housekeepers and spends time everyday sweeping around the front desk. I think I love this country even more because they love my son so much. I have definitely found it to be true that the way to a mother´s heart is through her child.

I have had a wonderful time connecting with friends here. I will miss them, but I am grateful I get the opportunity to come back often. The Lord is so good.

It's Spring Break!

Caleb and I are heading out early in the morning...way too early.  Brandon is taking the two of us as well as three of the guys on our team to the airport in Juarez, Mexico.  I have been elated during these past few days as we have been getting ready to go.

One of my best friends, Jen, is coming too, and she will be staying with Caleb and me.  She was on STINT with me in Guadalajara, and we already have planned several hang out times with friends who were involved in the ministry. I am so grateful that the Lord has worked it out so that Jen can come.  Ours is a friendship that is incredibly encouraging and edifying to me, and I look forward to getting to spend the week with her.

Brandon is taking several Greek students over to New Orleans to do some relief work for Hurricane Katrina victims.  It is amazing that there is still so much work to be done, but we are grateful for the opportunity they have to serve.

Caleb and I will miss Brandon...especially since communication will be difficult.

Please pray for us!  Oh, and GO BOILERS and GO CATS...both of whom won today!  :-)